Florida Panthers forward Richard Zednik has left the hospital and returned to Florida less than a week after he was slashed in the throat by a teammate’s skate.

Zednik went home Friday after being released Thursday evening, officials at Buffalo General Hospital said. Zednik lost five pints of blood when he was accidentally sliced by the skate of teammate Olli Jokinen in a game against the Sabres.

The 32-year-old forward said he barely felt the skate slice into his carotid artery, but with blood gushing from his neck he knew he was in trouble. “I was like, Whoa. I knew I had to get to the bench.”

He was quickly put in an ambulance, and Dr. Leslie Bisson put pressure on his neck to help slow the bleeding as the ambulance headed toward the hospital.

Dr. Sonya Noor repaired the artery that had been sliced open but not completely severed.

“One week happened so much. Everything just went so well,” Zednik said. “You look at it like that, and I was lucky. They saved my life. After surgery, they were amazing.”

Zednik spent Valentine’s Day night with his wife, Jessica, who had flown to Buffalo from Florida.

Jessica Zednik spent all day Sunday at Delray Medical Center in South Florida with their 4-year-old daughter, Ella. Ella, who had been battling a high fever, was well enough to go home later that evening.

Jessica Zednik had been home for 10 minutes when injured left wing Jozef Stumpel, a friend who didn’t make the road trip with the Panthers, called about her husband’s injury.

“Life is so fragile, and you don’t own it,” she told the newspaper. “You never know and take everything for granted. Not anymore, believe me. It’s a reality check.”

Zednik thanked all the people who have helped in his recovery, from medical personnel to well-wishers, in a statement released through the team Saturday.

“I want everyone to know that I am recovering and feeling well and hope to return to the ice as soon as I feel medically fit,” he said.

Honoring NIU victims

The Chicago Blackhawks will wear NIU Huskies decals on their helmets during today’s home game to honor those killed in the shooting at Northern Illinois University.

The Blackhawks play the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. The team announced that it also plans to wear the decals at St. Louis on Tuesday night and at home against Minnesota on Wednesday night.

The decal replicates the overlay of a black ribbon and Huskies logo that currently appears on NIU’s official Web site.

The team will also observe a moment of silence before the national anthem at today’s game.

A 27-year-old graduate student killed five people in a NIU lecture hall Thursday before killing himself.

De La Hoya a no-show

A former stripper who says she photographed boxer Oscar De La Hoya in racy women’s undergarments showed up at court to confront the former champion, only to learn he wasn’t there.

Milana Dravnel filed the lawsuit last year, contending De la Hoya defamed her character and caused her emotional distress by claiming the photos were phony.

“I’ve been hurt by what Oscar said,” she said. “This was my only option.”

Photos of De La Hoya in a fishnet bodysuit and a woman’s wig appeared on the front page of the New York Post on Saturday.

The boxer’s lawyer, Judd Burstein, said the pretrial hearing in U.S. District Court on Friday was procedural and there was no need for his client to be there. He added that Dravnel was simply trying to drum up publicity.

Dravnel’s lawyer, Salvatore Strazzullo, said outside the Manhattan courthouse he looked forward to when his client would not have to face cameras. Asked why he then put out a news release that attracted cameras, he said: “No comment.”

Nikolai Valuev earned a shot at the WBA heavyweight title Saturday, beating Sergei Liakhovich in a one-sided decision between former champions.

The 7-foot Russian, in one of his best performances, effectively used his left jab from the opening seconds to subdue the smaller fighter in the WBA eliminator bout.

Valuev (48-1) won 120-108 on two of the judges’ scorecards and 120-107 on the other to earn a rematch against Ruslan Chagaev, the first to beat the Russian as a pro and the man who took away his WBA belt in April.

Briefly

Norway won the team ski jump at a World Cup event Saturday, followed by Finland and Austria. Norway got 140-meter leaps from three of its four team members, with only Anders Bardal missing that mark. It took the lead after the first round of jumps when Austria was eighth.

Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia set a world record for the indoor 2 miles at the same venue where he broke two other marks held by countryman Haile Gebrselassie. Bekele ran 8 minutes, 4.35 seconds at the Norwich Union Grand Prix on Saturday. He took 0.34 off the mark of 8:04.69 that Gebrselassie set in February 2003.

Yelena Isinbayeva broke her own indoor world record in the women’s pole vault Saturday, clearing 16 feet, 2 inches. It was the Russian’s 21st world record. The Olympic and world champion improved on her previous record of 16-2 that was set last year at the same event, which is organized annually by pole vault great Sergei Bubka. Isinbayeva also holds the outdoor record of 16-5 , set at the 2005 worlds.

Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe broke a 16-year-old world record in the 200-meter backstroke Saturday.

The reigning Olympic champion in the event, Coventry toppled the second-oldest world record on the books at the Missouri Grand Prix.

Coventry finished in 2 minutes, 6.39 seconds, which was 0.23 seconds faster than the mark set by Krisztina Egerszegi of Hungary in August 1991. Second-place finisher Margaret Hoelzer was more than 4 seconds behind.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.